Bulverism

I think that Lewis' concept of Bulverism happens a lot nowadays. In politics, this is especially noticeable as politicians always seem to be attacking their opponents rather than debating the issues. Political ads are notorious for being used to discredit opponents and often do so dishonestly. In any current political issue, there are arguments based not on the issue itself but on attacking the opposition. It is ridiculous how far off from the topic these debates can get. It amazes me how much I see this happening throughout our government.

After thinking about this essay for a while, I realized that Bulverism is also something I am guilty of on a regular basis. It seems that whenever I am arguing with someone, I try harder to "win" the argument than I try to come to the right conclusion. Rather than admit that I am wrong, I often try to show how that person also is wrong or blame my mistake on something. The reality is that these kind of arguments rarely accomplish anything other than getting people angry at each other. We need to open our minds and understand the possibility that we are wrong. We also need to keep our arguments on topic, debating the idea itself and not other people that voice an opinion about the idea. Only through fair, non-Bulverized debate can we accomplish anything.